Imagine running a business in which several
upheavals inside a few years could chip away all the profit unless
you were a crack decision maker unafraid to innovate. That set of
facts applies to University Book Store.

Ever since a couple of UW students opened the store in 1900 in a
closet next to the UW President’s office in Denny Hall, University
Book Store has handled all the competition thrown its way. But
today, University Book Store—the third largest independent college
store in the U.S. in terms of revenue and among the largest
bookstores nationally—is facing a threat unlike any other.

While the arrival of big-box retailers like Borders and Barnes &
Noble were worrisome, the game-changing development of online
sales and the creation of the e-book have mounted a monumental
challenge to the venerable bookstore, which has made its reputation
on its ability to provide UW students with books and items they
need at a fair price.

Luckily for the UW community, Chief Executive Officer Bryan
Pearce and a board of committed trustees have piloted the bookstore
successfully through turbulent times while working with the
razor-thin margins that define profitability in the book business.
But the question remains: as technology continues to upend the
publishing industry, can University Book Store not only hang on,
but also thrive so it can continue to serve students?

“We are continually looking for opportunities to successfully position
the Book Store for the future, regardless of what it brings,”
Pearce says. “Our print-on-demand, digital book; online coursebook
rental program and online course-book price comparison are
examples of this.”

Among bookstores, University Book Store stands out from the
competition. “We are an independent corporate trust,” says Pearce,
who has been running the bookstore since 1990. “Our beneficiaries
are the individual UW students, faculty, alums and staff. Central to
our mission is serving UW students and providing them savings
and benefits whenever possible.” As a trust, the bookstore isn’t actually
owned by the UW, but is associated with it.

“The University Book Store and the University of Washington
Alumni Association share a commitment to serving the UW community,”
explains Paul Rucker, ’95, ’02, Executive Director of the
UW Alumni Association. “These two non-profit entities have different
functions but their purpose is the same—to serve and
strengthen the UW.”

Rucker points out that both the bookstore and UWAA work together
to build relationships with alums. UW grads who join the UWAA
receive a 10 percent point-of-purchase discount on books, supplies
and merchandise purchased online or at any University Book Store
location (excluding textbooks and Tech Center items) just by showing
their UWAA card or entering their UWAA number online.

The Book Store now offers a new online course-book price-comparison
resource that allows students to competitively shop for their
course books. That is on top of the annual UW Customer Rebate
that returns 10 percent of eligible purchases to UW students, faculty
and staff. Every year, the Book Store returns more than $1 million
to its UW beneficiaries—mostly students. Since the rebate
program started in 1930, the store has returned $32 million to its
customers. But that’s not all; University Book Store also has given
out student scholarships totaling more than $800,000.

“I didn’t realize how embedded [University Book Store is] in the
University community,” says Almeera Anwar, a UW senior who
serves as vice president of the store’s Board of Trustees.

The University Book Store brand has also expanded into the suburbs,
too. Northend Huskies can enjoy a Top Pot doughnut and
coffee at the Mill Creek store. The latest venture is the opening last
October of a University Book Store at The Landing in Renton. By
next fall, a brand new 5,000-square-foot store will open in the remodeled
Husky Union Building on the UW Seattle campus.

University Book Store reaches out to writers who self-publish
through its Espresso Book Machine in the University District store.
The Book Store also hosts about 500 author events throughout the
area, drawing authors ranging from Pulitzer Prize winner Marilynne
Robinson, ’68, to President Bill Clinton. And in another innovative
move, Book Store leadership contacted Powell’s Books in
Portland, Ore., the nation’s largest independent used-and-new
bookstore, to help launch a used-book business.

As for the future, University Book Store will keep adding textbooks
used in local private middle schools and private high
schools. The store recently launched a mobile version of its Website
and will be looking for partnership opportunities with online
companies to enhance offerings to the UW and other communities
that it serves. Pearce says real estate is another strategic advantage.
University Book Store leases property to 20 tenants in Book
Store-owned properties.

“As our business transitions,” Pearce says, “we are in a position to
leverage our real estate assets to ensure success.” And that’s good
news for the UW community.